The Wake

A shimmering beam of white light has arrived, guaranteed to brighten your life. Electric Arc, a serial radio show with a collaboration of writers from Minneapolis’ Lit 6 Project, has joined with Creative Electric Studios and successfully produced a radio show that is also fun to watch. Electric Arc is so original, so hilarious and unheard of, that trying to find a comparison for it would be like picking your favorite color – on acid.The Lit 6 Project, spawned from the minds of four dissenter of normalcy, is a group of creatives that has picked up their own torch- and …

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The thirteenth season of Survivor will have its castaways battling more than just the dangers of the uncivilized world. They’re also taking on one of the heaviest burdens in American society: racism. Survivor: Cook Islands will initially divide 20 contestants into four racially segregated camps: a Caucasian camp, an African-American camp, a Latino camp, and an Asian-American camp, each competing for the grand prize of racial superiority.Not that Survivor’s producers claim this to be the case. Host Jeff Probst, when interviewed on MSNBC, said that producers decided to segregate contestants by race because they noticed applicants had lots of “ethnic …

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After the disaster in New Orleans, it felt like even the fervent Bush supporters fled the Republican camp like water rushing past a broken levee, and not since Watergate has one generation been so stoutly against the head of state, this writer included. But there is something to smile about. Our generation is not only vocal about these beliefs, but we’ve utilized every medium available to express them. Altered Esthetic’s Guerilla Art group show is a must-see for those of you still teeming with anger over this past year’s political debauchery. The art was produced by a wildly diverse crowd, …

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Does anyone else feel as helpless as I do? Are there any other lost souls out there lighting matches into the wind and wondering what the fuck we are doing here? Does anyone else feel as if happy hour is actually the least happy hour of the day? Or am I the only one left?Sometimes, late at night I open all the windows in my room and let the ice and air wash over me, to create a balance between the outer and inner, some lukewarm equilibrium of feelings.I have dreams these days where awful things happen and I am …

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who: Joshua Poteat and Allison Titus, two award winning poets.
what: Reading
when: 09/22 at 7:30 p.m
where: Opposable Thumbs Bookswho: Juliana Spahr and Claudia Rankine
what: Reading
when: 09/27 at 7:30 p.m
where: Frederick R. Weisman Art Museumwho: The Wake
what: Open mic reading
when: 09/29 at 7:00 p.m
where: Manhattan Loftwho: David Treuer, from the University of Minnesota
what: Reading from his new novel
when: 09/29 at 7:30 p.m
where: The Fitzgerald Theaterwho: Naomi Shibab Nye
what: Reading
when: 09/30
where: The Loftwho: Thomas Glave
what: Reading
when:10/27
where: The Loftwho: Isabel Allende
what: Reading from Ines of …

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Here I am, lukewarm coffee sprinkled with a meager ration of cigarettes in the luminous hour before the sun burns the air and gives rise to that wholly industrial mood of the day. The ka-chunk and the whirring of engines as they pass by on the road.Dazed glances, frantic-paced people waiting for Arby’s or Quiznos, some semi-coherent homeless man stumbles by from one place to another, heat shimmers off the sidewalk, people wait for the bus in front of Burger King, and garbage flutters down the street.There’s no romance to daily life in the city: it’s too selfconscious, too purposeful.Right …

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Over Labor Day weekend, while most were settling into dorm rooms, getting to know new roommates or dealing with moving trucks, Hillel, the Jewish student center, was holding an event to help others in need. Blanket the World with Kindness was held Sept. 3 and Sept. 4 at both the Superblock and Middlebrook, respectively, and allowed students to take a break from packing to get involved with the community and a campus student group. At the event, tie fleece blankets were made for a local homeless shelter and went to children in need, says Ariella DePrenger-Gottfried, Hillel community service representative …

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Each September during the first week of school, a few thousand freshmen pack Northrop Auditorium for Convocation. The event gives first-year students a warm welcome and a grand introduction to the University. University President Bob Bruininks speaks, students learn the Minnesota Rouser and the marching band brings the show to a climactic close. “It was empowering,” says first year attendee Bobby Halperin about this year’s ceremony.But let’s get serious. The real reason for going to Convocation has nothing to do with the ceremony itself and everything to do with what comes after the march to Coffman Memorial Union: hot dogs, …

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Governor Tim Pawlenty’s recent shift to the center may cost him some votes from hard-line Republicans Nov. 7, but he’ll likely earn those back by convincing swing voters that his new middle-ground proposals are truly what Minnesota has been waiting for. Just this summer, Pawlenty has proposed major reforms to higher education to provide free tuition to students who meet certain requirements, suggested regulation of contracts between oil companies and gas stations to boost the use of ethanol while supporting a plan to make cars ethanol-friendly and called for a ban on prescription drug advertising. Many think that Pawlenty’s recent …

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Tucked away on the West Bank, veiled in Wilson Library on the fourth floor, hidden back in the James Ford Bell Library and guarded under glass is this semester’s exhibit, “Creating the First Global Empire: Portuguese Exploration and Expansion in the Early Modern World.” The exhibit displays original treasures from the early days of sea exploration and cartography.The exhibit opened Sept. 5 and showcases original maps, rare books and manuscripts from the 15th, 16th and 17th century escapades which led the Portuguese in expansion of the first global empire – spreading from the Atlantic, to Africa and the Indian Ocean …

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The only thing interrupting the placid water is the swift and rapid rowing of the University of Minnesota men’s crew team. The ripples that spread across the Mississippi River showcase 50 years of dedication. Crew, a club team that was started in 1957, has left a lasting impression on these waters and this campus.The crew team at the U was founded by Oliver Bogen, Lloyd Ohme and Dr. Charles Good. The team began practicing on the Mississippi River with equipment donated by the University of Wisconsin. Bogen lead the team as head coach for the first eight years.Fifty years later, …

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It seems that Brad Radke’s right arm could shatter as he was warming up before the first inning, and the gritty veteran could refuse to leave the game, begin to pitch a knuckle curve with his left arm and throw a perfect game with 26 strikeouts. Anyone on the streets would hear from the sports media that this is the latest overblown nail in Barry Bonds’ coffin.Or T.O.’s workout routine. Or how disgraceful USA basketball is to all things American: McDonalds, Dick Cheney, Oprah, the Mexican flag, Bobbleheads and people who bought the Paris Hilton album.What do the Minnesota Twins …

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The first time I got in trouble I was six years old. Fourteen years later, not much has changed. Since that first time, I’ve been slapped, shaken, written up, brought into coaches’ and principals’ offices and benched from soccer games. When I was six, a relative shook me and assured me if I ever again elected to raise that finger, by itself, I’d go to hell. While some might wonder what type of first-grader gives the finger, I’m still curious about what kind of adult walks around telling small children of the afterlife they should expect.As I see it, the …

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What can I say? It has a little something for everyone. From punk to indie rock, B96 to Kool-108, MTV to CMT - well maybe that is taking it a bit too far. Nonetheless, Twin Town High Music Yearbook is an eclectic arrangement of some of the best music the Twin Cities have to offer for 2006-07. The CD’s overall tone is mellow, ideal while hanging with a group of friends. Don’t get too comfortable though — the middle of the disc will halt you in mid roll and force you to dance. …

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Alfred M. Butts didn’t have public access TV or intoxicated students in mind when he invented Scrabble in 1948. Six decades later, Butts’ classic word game is attracting precisely this crowd thanks to Hamil Griffin-Cassidy’s weekly public access show, Totally Scrabble Tuesday. Every Tuesday night at 11 p.m., Minneapolis is pitted against Hamil in a rambunctious citywide Scrabble game broadcasted on Channel 17, the Minneapolis Television Network.How does an entire town play a timeless board game against one slick-tongued videographer? It all starts with Hamil and his merry crew of co-workers (and co-conspirators), who aim video cameras at a Scrabble …

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